Tags are the markers in pots of plants from Flowers by the Sea. Blue tags denote plants that are exceptionally drought resistant or xeric. They warn gardeners that certain Salvias and companion plants are hypersensitive to overwatering and require little watering once established. You should never water a blue tag plant if its soil is moist. All plant roots need oxygen. Xeric plants are particularly prone to being smothered when heavily doused.

Most of our blue tag plants are challenging to grow unless planted in areas with conditions approximating their native environments, which include poor soil and sharp drainage. That's why most are difficult to find at plant nurseries. However, we highly value their beauty, ability to withstand tough environments, usefulness to pollinators and conservation of water.

These species are native to California, the Southwest, Texas, the Canary Islands, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and high altitude steppe lands, such as in Turkey.

We email care instructions to you when ordering blue tag plants. One tip to be aware of immediately is their susceptibility to suffering during temporary dormancy in a box. So they may not appear cosmetically perfect upon arrival.

(California Drought Action Pack) The drought in California is a real challenge to gardeners. We want to help.

This package consists of Salvias, Agastache, Kniphofia, Asclepias and other wildlife-friendly & drought resistant plants that will grow, bloom and be happy in dry gardens. We will personally select three each of four different plants, taking into account your particular location.

(Uruguayan Firecracker Plant) Mint-green foliage felted with a covering of fine hairs provides a cooling backdrop to the hot orange tubular flowers of this long-blooming member of the acanthus family (Acanthaceae).

(Texas Craglily) Echeandia texensis shines in many ways. First, the delicate looking yet tough flowers are a rich shade of gold. Other stellar traits include its ability to tolerate clay soils, heat, a moderate amount of winter cold and drought.

(Dara's Choice Creeping Sage) A California native hybrid Sage that blooms in spring and early summer, Dara's Choice is widely considered the best choice for slopes, sunny neglected areas and problem spots.

(Blue African Sage or Blousalie) A handsome, densely branched shrub with small, gray leaves, this Salvia puts on a show when in full bloom. The pale blue flowers bloom on foot-long spikes that cover the plant. Each flower has a large, trumpet-shaped, green-and-red bract at its base.

(Kirstenbosch Golden Sage) This clone of the durable and tough Golden Sage was selected at Kirstenbosch, the famous South African Botanic Garden. It is more vigorous than Golden Sage and often grows larger.

(Sacred White Sage) Bees, hummingbirds and spiritual blessings are all connected to this elegant shrubby sage, which is an important herb to indigenous Californians and deserves a place in every salvia garden. Stiff and almost fleshy, its leaves are tight rosettes of brilliant, silvery white.

(Vicki Romo White Sage) A hybrid two top Californian natives, Vicki Romo has foliage very much like that of White Sage (Salvia apiana) and darker lavender flowers than those of Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii).

(Turkish Tea Sage) Sometimes an attractive plant is also medically powerful. That's true of the lavender flowered Salvia aucheri, which has strong white beelines. This Turkish native is consumed as an ingredient in teas used as folk remedies for many problems, including abdominal bloating and infections.

(Mejorana) In Spanish, Mejorana means ‘marjoram.” Similar to oregano-type Marjoram – another Mint family member -- this sage is used to flavor meat dishes. Our cultivar, which is native to Texas and Mexico, has lovely bluish-purple flowers that bloom summer to fall amid fragrant, fine, furry green foliage.

(Santa Rosa Island Sage) This is a hardy, California native sage although it is only found in the wild on one of Southern California's Channel Islands. It is drought resistant and forms dense mounds of fragrant, deep green, wrinkly foliage with heavenly clouds of lavender-tinged blue flowers in spring.

(Fuzzy Wuzzy Sage) This magnificent foliege plant is a hybrid between the Palestinian native Salvia dominica and the Woody Canary Island species Salvia broussonetii. If you like fuzzy leaves, this one is for you.

(Wooly Canary Island Sage) The pale magenta, parrot-beak flowers of this sage, supported by deeper magenta bracts, heat up the landscape. But when you get close, it may be the velvety texture of the foliage that makes you sigh.

(Silver Germander Sage) With its compact habit, brilliant silver-white leaves and large, sky blue flowers, this is an outstanding heat-tolerant choice for dry, sunny gardens. We consider this to be one of the finest short ground covers for these conditions.

(Marine Blue Sage) The name and origin of this fine cultivar has long been in dispute. It may be a clone or hybrid of the Mexican plant Salvia chamaedryoides var.isochroma. It is one of the prettiest, strongest sages we grow.

(Rough Blue Sage) Honeybees and butterflies love this deer-resistant shrub, which grows wild on the southwestern Cape of South Africa. It is a member of the most diverse plant community in the world, the fynbos -- an Afrikaans word, meaning "fine bush" and referring to scrub plants or shrubbery.

Testimonials

Used to live in CA and when I moved to NJ I missed the availability of Salvias. Found your website, searched by zone as I live in zone 6 and found the best asst of Salvias. Believe me when I say that as we order seeds from all over the world. And to our amazement the quality of the plants...

Steve Stahl

This has been the best packaging of plants I have ever seen. They arrived in good condition and I will plant them today.

Annemarie Bristow

The 3 Salvia sagittata arrived healthy and have taken off. The 1 Salvia patens Guanajuato had very few roots. It was loose in the pot and perhaps suffered root damage in the long transit. It's not dead, but is the plant TLC and has lost one stem. The packing was good. I think occasional losses...

JoAnne

Really trustworthy blog. Please keep updating with great posts like this one. I have booked marked your site and am about to email it to a few friends of mine that I know would enjoy reading..

Ellyanna

Plants looked very good at very reasonable prices.

Brenda

I am a first time customer and had reviewed this site's selection several times before buying. I hesitated because I thought the plants were a little pricy and shipping costs were higher than I was expecting. I found the money was well spent. The plants arrived quickly and were absolutely...

Kristine A Smith

My last plants were broken on arrival.I called and was told to wait a month.Yup! They are dead as doornails.

patricia small

Beautiful plants, nice and healthy and growing great. Excellent packing and fast shipping. Also great communication. Will do business with again.

Rick Bianchi

In one word? WOW! May the Lord continue to bless you and yours to prosper.

Jimmy Lee Brooks Jr

I recently bought 5 salvias in two varieties. I was impressed on how quickly they came and how carefully packaged they were. I cant wait to watch them mature, and will defiantly be buying more from you in the future! Thanks!